Scissors



Feb. 17, 1959 O. VISCONTI SCISSORS Filed May 6, 1957 0770 V/SCO/VT/ i7 TOi/VE X United States Patent SCISSORS Otto Visconti, Milan, Italy Application May 6, 1957, Serial No. 657,345 Claims priority, application Italy January 21, 1957 2 Claims. (Cl. 30-254) The present invention relates generally to'scissors, and in particular to an improved bandage-type scissor and method for the manufacture of such scissors. Advantageously, my improved scissors may be used for cutting bandages and other similar materials which are close to the skin or other surfaces which are to be protected against the pointed ends of the scissors and/ or the shearing action of the scissors.

Bandage-type scissors are available which incorporate looped handles having elongated shanks and blades disposed at an angle to the shanks and adapted to cooperate with a shearing action when the user manipulates the looped handles. Such scissors incorporate a blunt projection or nose on the forward end of the lowermost blade so that when the scissors are employed to cut bandages, sutures, and the like, the nose precludes contact of the otherwise pointed end of the scissor and/or the shearing surfaces against the skin regions contiguous to-those protected or covered by the bandage or the like.

With this type of scissors it is diflicultto convey appreciable sidewise pressure to the blades which tends to keep the blades together to permit the cutting of heavy or thick materials. This may be attributed in part to the fact that the blades are not aligned with the handle shanks, as is the case with conventional scissors. With ordinary scissors heavy cutting ispossible despite the lack of a sharp cutting edge in that the user may exert sidewisepressure to urge the blades against each other to keep the shearing edges firmly in contact and engage ment when cutting. Necessarily, with, bandage-type scissors greater effort is required to operate the same, even during the taking of comparatively light cuts, and more appreciable wear is experienced on the cutting edges, whether the cut is being taken in a thin or thick material assembly. Further, although the nose or knob on the lowermost blade (the one coming in contact with the skin or adjacent surfaces contiguous to the material being cut) prevents the possibility of cutting, puncturing or otherwise injuring the underlying surfaces, 'such nose precludes cutting close to obstacles, such as sutures, splints or the like or in special positions where little space is available to one side of the scissors. Still further, the presence of the nose, knob or blunted tip precludes the clean finishing of the cutting edges of the respective blades and the at tainment of sharp, razor-like edges suited for easy shearing through comparatively thick material assemblies.

g Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved scissor of the. bandage type which obviates one or more of the aforesaid difficulties. Specifically,, it is within the contemplation of the present invention to provide a bandage-type scissor which may be provided with extremely sharp cutting edges.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a bandage-type scissor which is suitable for penetrating into and cutting comparatively thick fabric assemblies.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a bandage-type scissor which may be employed to cut in regions close to obstacles, such as sutures, splints, and the like, or in regions where there is a minimum of space to one side of the location along which the scissor is to cut.

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment demonstrating features of the present invention conventional bandage scissors, including two members pivotally connected together and each embodying a blade terminating in a forward endv with the inner faces of the blade cooperating in the shearing plane for cutting, are improved by providing a projection on the forward end on the longer one of the blades for protecting adjacent surfaces when cutting with the scissors. The projection extends laterally from the shearing plane in the direction of the other one of the blades; that is to say, the projection or nose extends entirely to one side of the scissor. Thus, the longer blade which carries the projection may be honed on its outer face to form an outer face profile which curves toward and merges into the cutting edge of-said longer blade. The longer blade is of progressively diminishing section from its base edge toward the cutting edge whereby an exceptionally small cutting angle is defined between the honed and curved outer face and the normally flat inner face, thus facilitating penetration of the blade into comparatively thick materials.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be best appreciated by reference tothe following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: 1

Fig. l is a side elevational view of an improved bandage scissors embodying features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of my scissors taken from the left of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of my improved scissor;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary rear elevational. view, on an enlargedscale, with the blades of the scissors separated as at the beginning of a cut;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 6--6 of Fig. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and,

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic showing of typical apparatus useful for sharpening the blades of my improved scissors.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, there is shown a pair of improved bandage scissorsaccording to the present invention, which have been generally designated by the reference numeral 10. The scissors include two members 12, 14 pivotally connected together at 16 and criss-crossed in the conventional fashion. The members- 12, 14 respectively include handle parts or shanks 13, 2|) disposed in side by side relation and. extend at their rear ends into looped finger pieces 22, 24. The respective members 12, 14 extend at their forward ends into blade sections or portions 26, 28. As seen best in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, the blade 26 has its forward end 26:: extending beyond the forward end 28a of the blade 28. Each of the blades 26, 28 has an inner shearing face, designated respectively as 3ll, 32. r Theshearing faces abut and com front in a common shearing plane, designated by the letter P in Fig. 2. The inner shearing face 30 of the blade 26 terminates in a cutting edge 34, while the inner shearing face 32 of the blade 28 terminates in a cutting edge 36. The inner shearing faces 30, 32 and the respective cutting edges 34, 36 cooperate in the shearing plane P upon manipulation of the handle parts 18, 22, and 22, 24 to;

acrea e 3 cutting in the conventional fashion. -The blades 26, 23 are disposed at an angle relative to the respective shanks 18, 20 so that when the sole or base 38 of the longer blade 26 rests against the surface along which the scissors are to be moved for cutting, the handle elements or finger pieces 22, 24 are elevated from said surface.

Inaccordance with the present invention, the blade 26' is. formed with a blunt nose, knob or projection 40 intermediate its tip or foremost end 26a and the tip or foremost end 28a of the cooperating blade 28. The nose or projection 40 is formed integral with the blade 26 and extends laterally from the shearing plane P in the direction of the blade 28 (see Fig. 2). The nose or knob 40 is of tapered cross section from its rearward end to its forward end so that it conforms generally to the outline of the V-shaped tip portion of the blade 26 (see Fig. 1). Thus, the undersurface 40a of the nose forms a substantial continuation of the base 38 of the blade 26 while the upper surface 40b forms a continuation of the cutting edge 34 of the blade 26. Conveniently, the respective under and upper faces 40a, 40b of the nose 40 may be arranged to converge slightly toward each other at locations progressively removed from the shearing plane P, as seen best in Fig. 4 to facilitate tilting of the scissors about the base 38.

As a feature of the invention, the provision of the nose or knob 40 extending entirely to one side of the shearing plane P permits the formation of the blade 26 with a special profile enabling the blade to penetrate into heavier or thicker assemblies to be cut. Specifically, the outer face of the blade 26, generally designated by the reference numeral 42, may be honed or sharpened to have a profile curving toward and merging into the cutting edge 34 whereby the blade 26 is of progressively diminishing or tapering longitudinal section from the edge or base 38 toward the cutting edge 34. The thinness of the blade 26 in the region of the cutting edge 34 enables penetration into thicker assemblies and a corresponding reduction of the required cutting pressure.

The advantages of my improved structure may be more fully appreciated by considering typical cross sections for conventional bandage-type scissors wherein the nose of flat projection on the forward end of the longer blade extends to both sides of the shearing plane P. For such construction, both of the blades have a cross section comparable to that illustrated in Fig. 5 for the blade 36 wherein the cuttingangle a is of the order of 60. The cutting angle :2 is measured between the inner shearing face 32 lying in the shearing plane P and the bevel 36a extending adjacent the cutting edge 36. In Fig. 6 there is shown a typical cross section for my improved blade profile wherein the angle a (measured between the cutting inner shearing face 30 and a tangent to the curved outer face 42 contiguous to the cutting-edge 34) is of the order of 30 or less. The attainment of this blade profile is possible in that there is no obstruction along the outer face 42 of the blade 26 which might interfere with honing of the blade to the illustrated curved profile.

By reference to Fig. 7, which shows diagrammatically typical apparatus for sharpening blades in accordance with the present invention, further details of my improved construction will be more fully appreciated. The blade 26 may be mounted in any suitable jig J and brought into contact with the grinding wheel G to obtain the required curved profile and diminishing or tapering longitudinal section, as previously detailed. The blade 26 is honed or sharpened until the cutting angle between a tangent to the curved outer face and the inner shearing face is a 4 small acute angle, under 30, whereby it is easier to cut and less cutting pressure is required.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that in accordance with the present invention, there is provided an improved bandage scissor, wherein regions contiguous to the blades are protected from cutting, wounding or puncturing, yet a blade profile may be obtained which assures more perfect cutting action. The general shape of the protective nose or knob on the forward end of the lower blade is such that the scissors have a more modern and clean appearance. The nose construction does not include sharp turns and crevices, thereby making it easier to clean the present scissors and preventing less risk of dirt and the like accumulating in the region of the protective nose. Finally, the provision of the protective nose extending to one side of the shearing plane allows the scissors to be brought extremely close to obstacles, such as suture, splints, etc. at the opposite side whereby cutting may be achieved despite the presence of the laterallyprojecting nose.

A latitude of modification, substitution and change is intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be used without a use of other corresponding features. Accordingly, the claims herein should be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. An improved bandage scissors comprising two mem' bers pivotally connected together and each including a blade terminating in a forward end, each of said blades having an inner shearing face terminating in a cutting edge, said inner faces cooperating in a shearing plane for cutting upon pivotal movement of said members, one of said blades having its forward end extending beyond the forward end of the other of said blades, a pro jection on the forward end of said one blade for protecting adjacent surfaces when cutting with said scissors, said projection having one edge in alignment with the inner face of said one blade and extending only laterally from said shearing plane in the direction of the other of said blades.

2. An improved bandage scissors comprising two members pivotally connected together and each including a blade terminating in a forward end, each of said blades having an inner shearing face terminating in a cutting edge, said inner faces cooperating in a shearing plane for cutting upon pivotal movement of said members, one of said blades having its forward end extending beyond the forward end of the other of said blades, a projection on the forward end of ,said one blade for pro tecting adjacent surfaces when cutting with said scissors, said projection having one edge in alignment with the inner face of said one blade and extending only laterally from said shearing plane in the direction of the other of said blades, said one blade being formed with a blade profile having a small acute angle adjacent the cutting edge of said one blade.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 185,077 Coates Dec. 5, 1876 636,473 Thuillier Nov. '7, 1899 840,468 Bennett Jan. 8, 1907 1,330,515 Bryant Feb. 10, 1920 1,600,225 Halpern Sept. 21, 1926 2,627,656 'Richartz Feb. 10, .1953 

